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Ragged Islands to Ft. Pierce Passage - 3/3-3/6/2011
Ragged Islands to Ft. Pierce Passage - 3/3-3/6/2011
We left you after cleaning the bottom of Flying Pig and having one last amazing conch dinner aboard a buddy boat. We'll have to live without the pleasures of conch until we return to the Bahamas this summer, and we'll be doing a bottom job (one of the primary reasons for putting Flying Pig on the ground in the states, vs waiting until we get to Cartagena for a more serious refit), anyway, but the effort was very well rewarded, as you'll see anon. Those interested should be able to see our passage, including our transit to the marina where we'll be hauled out, by clicking on tinyurl.com/flyingpigspot. Clicking the hybrid tab will allow you to see our avoidance of the shoals, and clicking the right arrow at the bottom will allow you to follow us from the beginning. Double-clicking on anywhere will zoom a level at a time, if you like, too... March 3rd had us up as usual, listening to the morning weather. Chris Parker was in George Town on a busman's holiday, doing seminars each day while he wasn't enjoying all the adulation which his many subscribers there were lavishing on him, so we solicited a window for our passage from Ed, his sub. Ed gave a much shorter version of the potential weather than Chris would, but made a strong point of saying that if we wanted to do this trip soon, we'd need to be in FL by Sunday the 6th. We'd previously made a decision not to go until we had a chance to run it by Chris, his advice ALWAYS having been absolutely spot-on in our prior experience, but this window, as seen from the gribs (visual depictions of weather in a given area at a given time) we'd been pulling all week, looked absolutely ideal. Accordingly, at 2:10PM, having done all the 1-2-3's (little chores we do on a daily basis) of securing the deck, and, significantly, making a triple bridle tow line for our sorry Walker Bay Genesis which we've not had in the davits since we returned to the Bahamas in July 2010 due to some safety issues with the lifting system, we had our anchor up under main alone. 5 minutes later saw the genoa unfurled, and we were off to the races. Our newly cleaned bottom proved itself as our 288*T course out to clear the first shoals saw us making 6.5-7.5 knots in only 12-15 knots of apparent wind on an angle of 105-120*, unheard of for a VERY long time. By 2:40, we headed up to the gap which would clear the Cochinas and Middle Ground shoals. That put us on a 305*T course, moving the wind forward to 90-105* and boosting the apparent wind to 14-17, but cutting our speed slightly to 6.5-7.3 knots as we bounced through the slight chop. I also was to learn when I went up the mast to make some adjustments to our WiFi system, once we'd arrived in Ft. Pierce, that the bracket to the wind instrument had broken. I don't know when that occurred, but I'm sure it affected the true wind angles as the pole supporting the instrument was no longer stable; thus, you'll have to take my readings with a grain of salt (of which we collected massive amounts during our trip!) :{)) I went down for a nap at 3PM on general principle, now that we were on a course which would hold for a while, but when I arose at 4-4:30 after the noise of a crash jibe due to the autopilot having gone into standby and the boat turning downwind, the wind, due to our being out of the islands' lee had picked up to 15-19 knots, on an apparent (see above!) angle of 75-105*, mostly a function of our rock-and-roll, I expect. However, we were rewarded with a SOG of 7.4-8.5 knots. WaHooo! That leg would see typical speeds of 7.4-7.9 knots with 3-5' seas, mostly swells, and the pressure on our sails kept us at a comfortable 10-15* heel, ideal for our hull configuration. We were keeping a sharp eye on the weather due to our angle of attack and the already relatively brisk winds, so when we saw some rain on the radar, engaged when we saw some clouds, we rolled up the genoa at 5:45PM. I'd have preferred to reef, but Lydia's got the whim-whams about me going out on deck in nasty conditions, so we took that option instead. The squalls increased the seas to 6-8', and raised the wind to 20-25 knots. Without the stabilizing influence of the genoa, we started rolling +/- 20* - perfect for sloshing our 2/3 full fuel tank. As the sun was otherwise shining, and, better yet, our predominant angle increased the solar output, and the wind level was in the sweet spot for our wind generator, our batteries remained full. Taking advantage of all that, we turned on the fuel polisher, which was to run continuously for more than a day. That particular piece of gear has proven itself very well, our first Racor filter change not happening for over 1000 hours of engine time - years of operation; at that, it's entirely possible that we didn't need to change it at all, the engine stoppage we'd experienced (see prior log about getting fuel in Marsh Harbour long ago) being not a filter clog, but an air-entry point in a loose fitting. Having cleared the shoals, we turned due west for the next leg very soon after that, which moved the wind aft, even worse for the rock-and-roll. We still were making 6.5-7.5 knots, but the wind became fluky, varying all the way from 10-25 knots, typically at 120-135* on our starboard side. Indeed, this entire trip would be a starboard tack until we turned in from the Gulf Stream! Lydia went down for her nap at 8:30, and by 9PM, still rocking and rolling, we started getting major breaking waves which exacerbated that R&R but also induced some yaw. Not very good conditions for sleeping! By 11PM, the wind had become extremely fluky, with frequent periods of 5-7 knots, alternated with periods of 14-20 knots. It appeared we were also getting some clocking, but with the seas remaining high, our speed was dropping, now, to the mid-6's. Still nice progress compared to the last several passages we'd made! I went down for my sleep at 1AM, Lydia having come up after one of my own noisy jibes. Conditions remained the same for my sleep which ended at 6:15, Lydia having awakened me to be on with Chris Parker at 6:30. In the intervening time, she'd seen one fishing boat, but no other traffic whatsoever. Indeed, until we got off the coast of FL, we were to see no other boats in the entire trip. Friday, March 4th dawned with my speaking with Chris, who told us what to expect for winds and seas. He confirmed that this was a terrific window of opportunity, but would be, in the words of my second ex-wife (on whose father's boat I cut my sailing teeth), "sporty" sailing. By 7:20, we'd turned on our second major leg, going 316*T. The winds had picked up to 20-25 knots, gusts to 30, on an apparent angle of 90-110*, accompanied by seas which were building to 6-8' - fortunately, mostly swell, as opposed to chop. As we had only the main out, our speed was dropping, too, seeing "only" 6-6.5 knots. Once we had our course dialed in, Lydia went down for her sleep at 7:30. By 9, the wind continued to build, with a relatively constant 25 knots. We assumed we must be in a counter-current, or, perhaps, tidal flow, as our speed dropped to only 5.5-6.0 knots. Indeed, it got worse, as, by 10AM, we'd dropped to only 3.8-4.4 knots, made worse by the building seas inducing 45* rolls, the only benefit we could figure being that the fuel polisher would have more to work with, if there was anything loose in the tank. All that R&R also woke Lydia, who came up at 10:45. All that motion finally convinced her to allow me to go out and take in a reef on the main so that we could put out some genoa again. Harness on, bright sunshine, I strapped myself to the mast after we'd fired up the engine for long enough to keep us into the wind. Reefing was a total non-event, as it's been in every case we've ever done, including the triple reef in 40+ knots I took just before our wreck 4 years ago, and I extracted a promise from Lydia that when I suggested a reef in the future, she'd allow me out on deck :{)) We rolled out about a 70% jib to counter the weather helm we'd had, too. That stopped a lot of the R&R, and stood the boat up nicely, increasing our speed back into our much preferred 6.4-7.1 knots. Once stabilized, I went down for another nap at 11:45 to get some rest. Back up at 2, the wind was dying, but not clocking, so we were seeing 12-16 knots of apparent wind at the same 90-115* - which, in the "relatively light" air, gave us 5.7-6.2 knots SOG. Now that things were a bit less windy, I rolled out the genoa to its 135%, and we were rewarded as we leapt forward at 6.6-7.7 knots. As always, ever changing, the wind started to clock, so by 2:45, we eased the sails and went up to 7.2-8.0 knots in only 13-18 knots of apparent wind, helped by the waves dropping to only 2-4'. Lydia came up at 6PM as the seas started building again, to 3-5', and at 7PM I went down for an extended nap. Conditions remained essentially the same, and by midnight, we were off the banks. The deeper water minimized any tidal effect we'd been seeing, so as we turned on the next major leg at 321*T, we were seeing only 15 knots of apparent wind but were making 8.2 knots. Hmmm. This is promising. We'd been worrying about being able to get to Ft. Pierce before dark on Sunday. As you'll see later, that fear proved to be baseless. I came back on duty at 1:30AM, Lydia going bleary-eyed, as the wind continued to clock a bit. That helped, as it put the apparent wind of 10-20 knots at 120* on our starboard quarter, yielding 8.5-9.5 knots, aided by the slight favorable current in this area. 2AM had me turning slightly up to improve the wind angle, as we still had lots of heel and rock-and-roll. Indeed, conditions were to remain so lumpy that doing cooking below was extremely challenging. Lydia'd not attempted our usual routine for coffee, which is to grind our beans, then put the boiling water in our french press before pouring, instead, using a bagged coffee single for my mug. (Our routine is, if calling for relief, to have coffee ready for the incoming crew...) More ever-changing routine, the wind became fluky by 4AM, dropping and clocking to go along with the speed variations. A slight course change, to keep the sails full, kept the speeds to 7.4-8.5 knots, and, once stabilized, I went below to talk to Chris at 6:30. He provided his usual exact-to-the-minute forecast, letting us know the best course to take at the anticipated interception of the Gulf Stream's eastern wall, and to our exit at Ft. Pierce. As this was Saturday, we'd not have another opportunity to talk with him, given that he's off on Sundays, so we wanted the most possible detail to take us through the end of our trip. Saturday, March 5th saw us enter the longest - and fastest - leg of our trip, aided by the Gulf Stream's northerly flow. Where we entered it, however, it wasn't a due-north stream. Indeed, due to the apparent wind angle, we bore off slightly from the preferred course, which would be on the line of 79*45' W longitude, putting us about 355*T. That took us more to the center of the stream at that area, and we hoped that the wind would do its forecasted clocking to allow us to correct for a slightly east of north heading to bring us back into the stream as it turned north later. 8AM saw us making 9.9 knots, briefly, but mostly we were in the high 8s to low 9s. By 10:30, we'd turned to 005*T to bring us back along with the stream's direction, aiming for 79*45' W. The wind was down to only 14-18 knots apparent, and we were tucked in (maybe - floppy bracket adjustment??) at a relative pinch of 75-90*. Of course, this isn't a pinch, at all, being a close- to beam-reach attitude, but with the lesser wind at the time, we were still making an exhilarating 9.5-10 knots. By 1PM,. as we entered the axis of the stream, we were seeing 10.8-11.6 knots in only 14-17 knots of apparent wind. 2PM had some squalls on the horizon, so we proactively rolled the genoa up to its reefed position of about 40%. Dead reckoning had us going WAAY too fast, which would put us at an arrival of not long after midnight, but the squalls turned into only light showers and disappeared from the radar, so we rolled out the genoa again to 70%. The 18-24 knot winds gave us 10.2-10.8, still flying along. Along with that, the wind shifted forward. As we were already well pinched for the level of sail we had out, we again turned 355*T to ease the pressure slightly. As it continued to back slightly, and rise, with gusts to 28 knots, that proved to be a good move. However, that was short-lived, so by 2:45, we went back to 000*T with the wind at 75-90* apparent. Ever changing, the wind and seas built to 6-8' and an estimated 10 footer appearing from time to time when swell and waves coincided, with many breaking. As these were essentially abeam, that occasionally produced some fairly large rolls, when we happened to be on the downside of a breaking wave. I went down for a nap at 3:30, but was awakened at 5PM by slapping sails and a wallowing boat. The wind had altogether died, and, along with it, most of the waves. There was a light rain, but no squall activity. We grabbed the opportunity to actually cook a dinner in the relative stability. Sure enough, whatever the meteorological reason for that anomaly, the wind picked up, in a matter of, literally, a couple of minutes, from 2-4 to 20-25 knots on an apparent 60*. Flying Pig, goosed by the wind, jumped immediately to 10.5-11.6 knots. 6:15 saw a 5 minute lull, but after that we were right back at it. Along with the lull going away, the waves returned with a vengeance. I have difficulty understanding how days' worth of wind waves and swell can disappear in minutes, but then, on reappearance of the wind, be right back up in, again, a matter of minutes. 7:15 saw Lydia doing a panic routine as a cruise ship appeared off the horizon. To her eye, it looked like it would intercept us, but my interpretation of the radar was that it would pass very safely astern. After repeated attempts to hail (well, we hailed, but they didn't respond, probably because they'd had us on their radar for the last several hours and knew they'd not get anywhere near us), the boat did, indeed, pass 2+ miles astern of us, and, ever fearful that it might turn back to get us, Lydia didn't go down for her rest until it had reached 150* off our port quarter at 7:40PM. Now that we were in the FL area, we were to see a fair amount of traffic, but none of it was near us, and none had a crossing course. For the last many hours, we'd been keeping essentially a due-north attitude, but as the Gulf Stream started its westward movement after the bulge of FL, we headed off to 342*T at 8:30PM. That put us in a 120-135* apparent wind of 10-20, still pretty widely variable in speed, but we managed to keep about 10 knots under our keel as I rolled out the genoa to take advantage of the broader reach. This would put us in the Ft. Pierce entrance at a dead-reckoned 2AM or so. Consultation of the charts let us feel comfortable with an early morning entry and anchoring, so we kept on keeping on. Lydia went down for a nap at 9PM as we continued to charge northwestward. The wind had backed, yet again, which made for some nervous calculations about what would happen when we turned in for the channel. My estimation was that we'd still have some Gulf Stream motion, which would necessitate a more southerly heading than our course, so we'd be able to tack it, and still have the winds in a broad reach. At 11:45PM, that's exactly what happened, as we went to 100-120* apparent wind, with the boat heading 20-30* more southerly than our 270*T course. By 1AM, the 7-9' swell made the shoreline's tall buildings, only 10 or so miles away, disappear for seconds at a time from my 6'+ above-water perch. VERY impressive. NOAA radio keeps saying SE at 15-20, but we're seeing more like 8-17, widely variable, which gave us only about 6.4 knots during this, the shortest of our open-water legs. Indeed, we entered the channel, 480 miles from our start, exactly 60 hours from when we left, at 2:10AM. Exactly 8 knots average, a booming trip. We had our potty locked into no-discharge mode, and the anchor down, right in front of the USCG station, by 3AM. Whatta Ride! We were well worn out due to all the motion we'd had, including a couple of minor launches from the galley to the nav station area during some of the more egregious waves in the Gulf Stream, but otherwise it was a great trip. We'll sit a bit until we can contact our marina where we'll haul out for some boat work, take advantage of the great internet to catch up on phone calls and otherwise get ready for our work ashore. Well, as it turned out, I had a few more minutes to go, so this didn't go after the above line. We headed out to the marina, following their instructions rigorously. None the less, with both the wind and tide pushing us toward a marker post on the incredibly skinny channel, we were quite firmly aground/amud. Throttle and steering wheel did nothing, but we WERE inching toward the sign. Quick! Get out a long extender line, hook it to the spinnaker halyard, cleat off the end of the halyard, and jump in the dinghy. Let out about 150 feet of extender line, tie it off on the dink, and pull. Off she comes, immediately. Quick, try not to be dragged backward by the boat while it's making way down the channel, and make sure the line doesn't get involved in the wind generator, get the dinghy attached to the side, and jump aboard. Oops, another, softer, grounding, right in front of the first boat in the row. Throttle and rudder get us off in a few minutes, and we continue to run the gantlet. Lift slip immediately on the right. Back in, fightnig both the wind and current pushing our boat further up the channel, making sure the bow doesn't hit the boat across, as the channel after boats on each side is about 50'. Let the dinghy drift off downwind into the end of the channel, and, a few minutes later, we're secured in the lift slip. Off with the KISS wind generator, down with the HF 23' antenna (it has a locking ratchet bottom and a standoff with a flip-front, so that took all of a minute), off with the VHF and quadrafilar helical antennas on the arch so the bar on the travel lift could clear it, , and we're good to go. On the ground and looking for a car to buy, we get a ride out to customs by someone we'd met elsewhere who's also in the yard. A few minutes later, we're legally re-entered into the US of A, and off we come, back to the yard. A hunt for the dinghy finds it where the same folks who gave us a ride had tied it off for us, and we make short work of getting the engine off, hauling it up the rocks, wheeling (the dinghy has small wheels built into the stern) it down to behind our boat, stow the engine and gas tank, and we're in our new home for the next several months, excited but dreading the work ahead... It will likely be several months before the next log, so don't think we've fallen off the face of the earth. Until next time, Stay Tuned! L8R Skip and crew, including Portia who we've discovered easily navigates the ladder 12' up and down from the yard Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing, messing-about-in-boats; messing about in boats-or *with* boats. In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not." |
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posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Ragged Islands to Ft. Pierce Passage - 3/3-3/6/2011
Hey Skippy,
Your writing talent needs improvement. You just don't sound nautical enough. I have taken the liberty of doing a rewrite of your lubberly prose. My improvements will be delineated using asterisk (*word or phrase*) "Flying Pig" wrote in message ... Ragged Islands (*enroute*) to Ft. Pierce Passage - 3/3-3/6/2011 We left you after (*scrubbing*) (*Flying Pig's bottom*) and having one last amazing conch dinner aboard a (*fellow cruiser's*) (*yacht*). We'll have to live without the pleasures of conch until we (*arrive back in*) the Bahamas this summer, and we'll be doing a bottom job (one of the primary reasons for putting Flying Pig on the (*hard*) in the states, vs waiting until we (*fetch*) Cartagena for a more serious refit), anyway, but the effort was very well rewarded, as you'll see anon. Those interested should be able to see our passage, including our transit to the marina where we'll be hauled out, by clicking on tinyurl.com/flyingpigspot. Clicking the hybrid tab will allow you to see our avoidance of the shoals, and clicking the right arrow at the bottom will allow you to follow us from the beginning. Double-clicking on anywhere will zoom a level at a time, if you like, too... March 3rd had us up as usual, (*monitoring the VHF for*) the morning weather. Chris Parker was in George Town on a busman's holiday, doing seminars each day while he wasn't enjoying all the adulation which his many subscribers there were lavishing on him, so we solicited a window for our passage from Ed, his sub. Ed gave a much shorter version of the potential weather than Chris would, but made a strong point of saying that if we wanted to do this (*passage*) soon, we'd need to (*arrive in*) FL by Sunday the 6th. We'd previously made a decision not to (*depart*) until we had a chance to run it by Chris, his advice ALWAYS having been absolutely spot-on in our prior experience, but this window, as seen from the gribs (visual depictions of weather in a given area at a given time) we'd been pulling all week, looked absolutely ideal. Accordingly, at 2:10PM, having done all the 1-2-3's (little chores we do on a daily basis) of (*clearing*) the deck, and, significantly, making a triple (*hitch*) (*painter*) for our sorry Walker Bay Genesis which (*has yet to swing on*) the davits since we returned to the Bahamas in July 2010 due to some safety issues with the (*lifting tackle*), we (*weighed anchor*) under main alone. 5 minutes later saw the genoa unfurled, and we were off to the races. Our new(*fresh*) bottom proved itself as our 288*T course out to clear the first shoals saw us making 6.5-7.5 knots in only 12-15 knots of apparent wind (*on the quarter*) (*a speed*) unheard of for a VERY long time. By 2:40, we headed up to the gap which would clear the Cochinas and Middle Ground shoals. That put us on a 305*T course, moving the wind forward to 90-105* and boosting the apparent wind to 14-17, but cutting our speed slightly to 6.5-7.3 knots as we (*pitched*) through the slight chop. I also was to learn when I went (*aloft*) to make some adjustments to our WiFi system, once we'd arrived in Ft. Pierce, that the bracket to the wind instrument had (*carried away*). I don't know when that occurred, but I'm sure it affected the true wind angles as the (*strut*) supporting the instrument was no longer stable; thus, you'll have to take my readings with a grain of salt (of which we collected massive amounts during our trip!) :{)) I went (*below*) for a nap at 3PM on general principle, now that we were on a course which would hold for a while, but when I arose at 4-4:30 after the noise of a jibe (*all standing*) due to the autopilot having gone into standby and the boat turning downwind, the wind, due to our being out of the islands' lee had pick(*freshened*) to 15-19 knots, on an apparent (see above!) angle of 75-105*, mostly a function of our (*wallowing*), I expect. However, we were rewarded with a SOG of 7.4-8.5 knots. WaHooo! That leg would see typical speeds of 7.4-7.9 knots with 3-5' seas, mostly swells, and the pressure on our sails kept us at a comfortable 10-15* heel, ideal for our hull configuration. We were keeping a sharp eye on the weather due to our angle of attack and the already relatively brisk winds, so when we saw some rain on the radar, engaged when we saw some clouds, we rolled up the genoa at 5:45PM. I'd have preferred to reef, but Lydia's got the whim-whams about me going out on deck in nasty conditions, so we took that option instead. The squalls increased the seas to 6-8', and raised the wind to 20-25 knots. *deleted entire paragraph about fuel polishing as it has no place in a sailing log.* Having (*exicted shoal water*), we (*steered*) due west for the next leg very soon after that, which moved the wind aft, even worse for the (*wallowing*). We still were making 6.5-7.5 knots, but the wind became fluky, varying all the way from 10-25 knots, typically at 120-135* on our starboard side. Indeed, this entire trip would be a starboard tack until we turned in from the Gulf Stream! Lydia went (*below*) for her nap at 8:30, and by 9PM, still (*wallowing like gargage scow*), we started (*seeing*) major breaking waves which exacerbated (*the wallowing*) but also induced some yaw. Not very (*conducive*) for sleeping! By 11PM, the wind had become extremely fluky, with frequent periods of 5-7 knots, alternated with periods of 14-20 knots. It appeared we were also getting some (*veering*), but with the seas remaining high, our speed was dropping, now, to the mid-6's. Still (*respectable*) progress compared to the last several passages we'd made! I went (*below*) for my sleep at 1AM, Lydia having come (*on watch*) after one of my own (*cachophonous*) jibes. Conditions remained the same for my sleep which ended at 6:15, Lydia having awakened me to be on with Chris Parker at 6:30. In the intervening time, she'd seen one fishing boat, but no other traffic whatsoever. Indeed, until we got off the coast of FL, we were to see no other boats in the entire trip. Friday, March 4th dawned with my speaking with Chris, who told us what to expect for winds and seas. He confirmed that this was a terrific window of opportunity, but would be, in the words of my second ex-wife (on whose father's boat I cut my sailing teeth), "sporty" sailing. By 7:20, we'd turned on our second major leg, (*making*) 316*T. The winds had (*freshened*) to 20-25 knots, gust(*ing*) to 30, on an apparent angle of 90-110*, accompanied by seas which were building to 6-8' - fortunately, mostly swell, as opposed to chop. As we (*were sailing under mainsail only*), our speed was dropping, too, seeing "only" 6-6.5 knots. Once we had our course dialed in, Lydia went (*below*) for her sleep at 7:30. By 9, the wind continued to (*freshen*), (*to*) a relatively constant 25 knots. We assumed we must be in a counter-current, or, perhaps, tidal flow, as our speed dropped to only 5.5-6.0 knots. Indeed, it got worse, as, by 10AM, we'd dropped to only 3.8-4.4 knots, (*aggravated*) by the building seas inducing 45* rolls, the only benefit we could figure being that the fuel polisher would have more to work with, if there was anything loose in the tank. All that R&R also woke Lydia, who came (*on deck or watch*) at 10:45. All that motion finally convinced her to allow me to take in a reef on the main(*sail*) so that we could (*unfurl*) the genoa again. Harness on, bright sunshine, I (*made*) myself (*fast*) to the mast after we'd fired up the (*iron genoa*) for long enough to keep us into the wind. Reefing was a total non-event, as it's been in every case we've ever done, including the triple reef in 40+ knots I took just before our wreck 4 years ago, and I extracted a promise from Lydia that when I suggested a reef in the future, she'd allow me out on deck :{)) We (*unfurled*) about a 70% jib to counter the weather helm we'd had, too. That stopped a lot of the (*wallowing*), and stood the boat up nicely, increasing our (*way*) back to a much-preferred 6.4-7.1 knots. Once stabilized, I went (*below*) for another nap at 11:45. Back (*on watch*) at 2, the wind was dying, but not (*veering [or backing]*), so we were seeing 12-16 knots of apparent wind at the same 90-115* - which, in the "relatively light" air, gave us 5.7-6.2 knots SOG. Now that things were a bit less windy, I (*unfurled*) the genoa to its 135%, and we were rewarded as we (*bounded ahead*) at 6.6-7.7 knots. As always, ever changing, the wind started to (*veer*), so by 2:45, we eased the (*sheets*) and went up to 7.2-8.0 knots in only 13-18 knots of apparent wind, helped by the waves dropping to only 2-4'. Lydia came (*on deck*) at 6PM as the seas started building again, to 3-5', and at 7PM I went (*below*) for an extended nap. Conditions remained essentially the same, and by midnight, we were off the banks. The deeper water minimized any tidal effect we'd been seeing, so as we turned on the next major leg at 321*T, we were seeing only 15 knots of apparent wind but were making 8.2 knots. Hmmm. This is promising. We'd been worrying about being able to (*fetch*) Ft. Pierce before dark on Sunday. As you'll see later, that fear proved to be (*unfounded*). I came back on (*watch*) at 1:30AM, Lydia going bleary-eyed, as the wind continued to (*veer*) a bit. That helped, as it put the apparent wind of 10-20 knots at 120* on our starboard quarter, yielding 8.5-9.5 knots, aided by the slight favorable current in this area. 2AM had me (*heading up*) slightly to improve the wind angle, as we still had lots of heel and (*wallowing*). Indeed, conditions were to remain so lumpy that doing cooking below was extremely challenging. Lydia'd not attempted our usual routine for coffee, which is to grind our beans, then put the boiling water in our french press before pouring, instead, using a bagged coffee single for my mug. (Our routine is, if calling for relief, to have coffee ready for the (*new watch*...) More ever-changing routine, the wind became fluky by 4AM, dropping and (*veering as an analog to*) the speed variations. A slight course change, to keep the sails full, kept the speeds to 7.4-8.5 knots, and, once stabilized, I went below to talk to Chris at 6:30. He provided his usual exact-to-the-minute forecast, letting us know the best course to take at the anticipated interception of the Gulf Stream's eastern wall, and to our exit at Ft. Pierce. As this was Saturday, we'd not have another opportunity to talk with him, given that he's off on Sundays, so we wanted the most possible detail to take us through the end of our trip. Saturday, March 5th saw us enter the longest - and fastest - leg of our trip, aided by the Gulf Stream's northerly flow. Where we entered it, however, it wasn't a due-north stream. Indeed, due to the apparent wind angle, we bore off slightly from the preferred course, which would be on the line of 79*45' W longitude, putting us about 355*T. That took us more to the center of the stream at that area, and we hoped that the wind would do its forecasted (*veering*) to allow us to correct for a slightly east of north heading to bring us back into the stream as it turned north later. 8AM saw us making 9.9 knots (*speed over the ground*), briefly, but mostly we were in the high 8s to low 9s. By 10:30, we'd turned to 005*T to bring us (*in line with*) the stream's direction, aiming for 79*45' W. The wind was down to only 14-18 knots apparent, and we were (*full and by*) (maybe - floppy bracket adjustment??) at a relative pinch of 75-90*. Of course, this isn't a pinch, at all, being a close- to beam-reach attitude, but with the lesser wind at the time, we were still making an exhilarating 9.5-10 knots. By 1PM,. as we entered the axis of the stream, we were seeing 10.8-11.6 knots (*SOG*) in only 14-17 knots of apparent wind. 2PM had some squalls on the horizon, so we proactively (*furled*) the genoa to its reefed position of about 40%. Dead reckoning had us going WAAY too fast, which would put us at an arrival of not long after midnight, but the squalls turned into only light showers and disappeared from the radar, so we (*unfurled*) the genoa again to 70%. The 18-24 knot winds gave us 10.2-10.8, still flying along. Along with that, the wind (*backed*). As we were already well pinched for the level of sail we had out, we again turned 355*T to ease the pressure slightly. As it continued to back slightly, and rise, with gusts to 28 knots, that proved to be a good move. However, that was short-lived, so by 2:45, we went back to 000*T with the wind at 75-90* apparent. Ever changing, the wind and seas built to 6-8' and an estimated 10 footer appearing from time to time when swell and waves coincided, with many breaking. As these were essentially abeam, that occasionally produced some fairly large rolls, when we happened to be on the downside of a breaking wave. I went (*below*) for a nap at 3:30, but was awakened at 5PM by slapping sails and a wallowing boat. The wind had altogether died, and, along with it, most of the waves. There was a light rain, but no squall activity. We grabbed the opportunity to actually cook a dinner in the relative stability. Sure enough, whatever the meteorological reason for that anomaly, the wind picked up, in a matter of, literally, a couple of minutes, from 2-4 to 20-25 knots on an apparent 60*. Flying Pig, goosed by the wind, jumped immediately to 10.5-11.6 knots. 6:15 saw a 5 minute lull, but after that we were right back at it. Along with the lull going away, the waves returned with a vengeance. I have difficulty understanding how days' worth of wind waves and swell can disappear in minutes, but then, on reappearance of the wind, be right back up in, again, a matter of minutes. 7:15 saw Lydia doing a panic routine as a cruise ship appeared off the horizon. To her eye, it looked like it would intercept us, but my interpretation of the radar was that it would pass very safely astern. After repeated attempts to hail (well, we hailed, but they didn't respond, probably because they'd had us on their radar for the last several hours and knew they'd not get anywhere near us), the boat did, indeed, pass 2+ miles astern of us, and, ever fearful that it might turn back to get us, Lydia didn't go (*below*) for her rest until it had reached 150* off our port quarter at 7:40PM. Now that (*Florida was in the offing*), we were to see a fair amount of traffic, but none of it was near us, and none had a crossing course. For the last many hours, we'd been keeping essentially a due-north attitude, but as the Gulf Stream started its westward movement after the bulge of FL, we (*fell) off to 342*T at 8:30PM. That put us in a 120-135* apparent wind of 10-20, still pretty widely variable in speed, but we managed to keep about 10 knots under our keel as I (*unfurled*) the genoa to take advantage of the broader reach. This would put us (*at*) the Ft. Pierce (*roadstead*) (*at an ETA of*) 2AM. Consultation of the charts let us feel comfortable with an early morning entry and anchoring, so we kept on keeping on. Lydia went (*below*) for a nap at 9PM as we continued to charge northwestward. The wind had backed, yet again, which made for some nervous calculations about what would happen when we turned in for the channel. My estimation was that we'd still have some Gulf Stream (*current drift*), which would necessitate a more southerly heading than our course, so we'd be able to (*come about*), and still have the winds in a broad reach. At 11:45PM, that's exactly what happened, as we went to 100-120* apparent wind, with the boat heading 20-30* more southerly than our 270*T course. By 1AM, the 7-9' swell made the shoreline's tall buildings, only 10 or so miles away, disappear for seconds at a time from my 6'+ above-water perch. VERY impressive. NOAA radio keeps saying SE at 15-20, but we're seeing more like 8-17, widely variable, which gave us only about 6.4 knots during this, the shortest of our open-water legs. Indeed, we entered the channel, 480 miles from our start, exactly 60 hours from when we left, at 2:10AM. Exactly 8 knots average, a booming trip. We had our potty locked into no-discharge mode, and the anchor down, right in front of the USCG station, by 3AM. Whatta Ride! We were well worn out due to all the motion we'd had, including a couple of minor launches from the galley to the nav station area during some of the more egregious waves in the Gulf Stream, but otherwise it was a great trip. We'll sit a bit until we can contact our marina where we'll haul out for some boat work, take advantage of the great internet to catch up on phone calls and otherwise get ready for our work ashore. Good Grief, I'm exhausted just trying to make such a long-winded diatribe a little more palatable to sailors so I give up already. Skippy, if in the future you only take ONE word of advice from me, please and desist saying "Lydia went down." Your sex life should not be a topic. LOL! Wilbur Hubbard |
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Ragged Islands to Ft. Pierce Passage - 3/3-3/6/2011
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